Sunday, September 23, 2012

Following the 2010 census, the boundaries of congressional districts were changed in Maryland. My neighborhood was moved into the 6th Congressional District. John Delaney is running against Roscoe Bartlett to represent that district.

I came across this story relevant to Bartlett who represented the district for decades:

U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R) in person is not necessarily the man behind his campaign literature, news releases and ads, according to the congressman, leaving his opponent, John Delaney, to wonder just who he is challenging this fall.

And:

At a recent town hall meeting, a man confronted Bartlett with what he perceived to be a negative campaign on the congressman’s part.......“You said you don’t get negative in your literature, but I checked it out, and it’s all I see,” the man said.

“I haven’t seen it,” Bartlett said at the Aug. 30 meeting in Frederick.......

When the man handed Bartlett a campaign flier he’d received in the mail that labeled Delaney a “loan shark,” Bartlett shrugged it off.

“That wasn’t me; that was the campaign,” he said, handing back the flier and shaking his head.

And:

This is not the first time the 10-term congressman has denied knowledge of negative attacks on his political opponents.

The weekend before this year’s Republican primary, tapes of 911 calls from 2008 were released recounting the marital discord of Bartlett’s top challenger.

Bartlett issued a statement denying any role in the release of the information, which surfaced under the name “Victory for Bartlett.” Email links from “Victory for Bartlett,” however, ended up at Bartlett’s campaign website, BartlettforCongress.com.

And:

David Ferguson, director of the Maryland Republican Party, said the party’s mailings “are not a coordinated effort with Congressman Bartlett.”

Alex Moodey, Chair of the Maryland Republican Party is employed by Bartlett's Congressional office.